Huck et al, in copending application, Ser. No. 091,878 filed Nov. 7, 1979 and herein incorporated by reference, have disclosed that high density information discs made from heavily plasticized conductive carbon loaded plastics must be treated by washing the surface with an aqueous solution to remove salts and hydroscopic materials which bleed to the surface of the discs during molding and interfere with playback. The discs are treated and rinsed with water or an aqueous solution and air dried.
In a mass production environment, single disc operations to remove water droplets that may cling to the surface of the disc are unacceptable because they are slow and expensive and they may damage the disc surface. Air drying has the disadvantage that it takes too long and can leave residues on the disc surface. Heating the disc at elevated temperatures to drive off the residual surface water is also unacceptable because the temperatures required would warp, shrink or otherwise distort the physical parameters of the plastic disc which in turn would lead to distortion of the very small information patterns on the disc. Further, any residues would be dried onto or baked into the surface of the disc.
Thus a method of drying the discs was sought that would be effective, uniform, rapid, be able to handle multiple discs simultaneously and be subject to automation, and have no adverse effect on the disc surface or physical dimensions, be inert with respect to the disc materials, and leave no residue on the surface of the disc.